Stacker for card counting machines



Feb. 25, 1941. N. s. WELK- STACKER FOR CARD COUNTING MACHINES 4 Sheet-Sheet 1- Original Filed July 26, 19259 INVENTOR. NELSON 5. WELK ATT0RNEY Feb. 25, 1941. N. s. WELK STACKER FOR CARD COUNTING MACHINES Original Filed July 26, 1939- 4 Sheets-She'et 2 Feb.25, 1941. N. s WELK STAC KER FOR CARD COUNTING MACHINES Original Filed July26, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. NELSON 5. WELK JJ flea/ 90 ATTORNEY N. S. WELK STACKER FOR CARD COUNTING MACHINES Feb. 25, 1941.

dri inal' Filed July 26, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 0k ma ww m5 a w N M BEE/W3 m 1 Patented Pei 3:25; 1941 PATENT STACKER FOR CARD COUNTING Nelson S. Welk, Athens, Ohio, assignor to The McBee Company, of Ohio Original application In 286,570. Divided and 1940, Serial N0. 327,416

7 10 Claims. My invention relates to that class of machines which are designed to count cards, loose leaf records, checks, tallies, and the like. A machine of this character is described in my copending application, Serial No. 286,570, filed July 26,- 1939, of which this application is a division.

As described in that application a machine is provided with means for feeding the cards to the machine, means for conveying the cards from the feeder to the counting mechanism, then away from the same, where they are delivered to the means for stacking them. This application relates more specifically to the stacker.

I devices of this kind it is essential that cards should'be delivered in a stack having the sides even so as to save the time of jogging them to get them in shape. It is also desirable that they should be stacked as they come from the machine without disturbing their sequential arrangement.

My invention has for its principal object to provide means to mechanically stack the cards after they have been counted.

y A further object is toso stack them as to facilitate their removal for filing.

A further'object is to provide means to. stack the counted cards in numerical sequence.

' A further object of my invention is to .provide a preliminary stacking roll mounted above and in contact? with the conveyor combined with deflector horns so that when the cards are ejected from the carrying rolls of the machine at the high rate of speedin practice, my machine can sort as'high as 50,000 cards per hour-they are caused to dam up in front of this preliminary stacking roll which is constructed of material sufiiciently light in weight to permit the cards to pass under it in stacked formation. In this manner I am able to transform the high speed travel of the cards to a slow speed.

A further object is to provide for adjustment of this stacker roll when desirable or necessary.

A further object is to provide for the adjustment of the deflector horns.

My means of accomplishing the foregoing objects may be more fully comprehended by having reference to the accompanying drawings which are hereunto annexed and are a part of this specification in which:

Fig. l is aside elevation view of the front half of theconveyor drive and stacking means, some of theparts being shown broken away and in section for clarity;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the rear half of the conveyor drive and stacking means, some Athens, Ohio, a corporation ly 26, 1989, .Serial No. this application April 2,

of the parts being shown broken away and in section for clarity;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a. partial cross sectional view taken on line 64 of Fig. 1 showing the mounting means for the front roller of the conveyor;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the operation of stacking the cards, etc.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the entire specification.

After the cards have passed through the :second set of wringer rolls in the manner set forth in said application, Serial No. 286,570, hereinbefore referred to, they fall upon a conveyor belt i which may be made of canvas or other flexible material with a rough surface. This belt I is preferably driven by a pair of wooden rolls 2 and 3. The conveyor belt is supported by a rigid metal table 4. Each side of the table is bent downwardly at a right angle and is attached by means of screws 5 to a metal pan or casing 6 which houses the conveyor. The rollers 2 and 3 are provided with steel shafts l and 8, the ends of which are carried by bearings 9 and The bearings H! are fixedly secured to a belt tightening device II which is clamped to the bottom of the pan 6 being secured i place by means of screws I! which extend through longitudinal slots formed in the bottom of the pan, so as to permit adjustment of the belt I. The end of the pan 6 rests upon a cross rod I4 which is secured to the side bars IS.

The bearings 9 for the roller 2 are preferably pressed in to the side panels of the machine, only a fragmentary portion of these panels are shown. These bearings project inwardly pref-' erably of an inch and extend inside of hubs l3 and I3 which project from the right and left ends of the roller 2. and which are per; manently attached thereto.

Upon the rods IGand I1 I mount collars I8 which are slid-ably mounted thereon. Set screws l9 are provided tohold these collars IB securely against sliding movement. These collars 18 are preferably fastened to the ends of a cross rod 20. Upon this rod 20 I mount a pair of swinging arms 2|, which may be spacedapart approximately two inches by any suitable or desired means; as shown they are spaced by a preliminary stacker roller preferably made of wood or some other light weight'material 25. The arms 2! are preferably retained in position by means of collars 22 and screws 23. An axle 26 is of an inch in thickness, areattached to the arms 2|, by screws 23 and are adjustable so that when the cards strike these horns 28 they are guided downwardly and underneath the wooden roll 25, and intermediate it and the conveyor belt I. I provide for the adjustment of these horns 25 by means of holes 26' so as to allow the machine to handle various sizes of cards.

At the outer end of the pan or casing 6, I locate an inclined plate 21 which is attached by means of the hinge 28 to the pan 6, thus providing means for covering this portion of the conveyor when the machine is not in use. V

When the cards are conveyed to the rear, contact the inclined plate 21 which is swung open as seen in Fig. 6 and since the surface of the plate 21 is smooth, it permits themto slide upward until they have assumed approximately an upright position as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. When the resistance of the cards stacked against the plate 21 is sufficiently great, the rough surface of the conveyor belt I will slip beneath the lower .iges of the cards, and this willcause additional ards to assume an upright position before the mace between the plate 21 and the roller 25 is filled.

After the card passes the wringer rolls 2B and 29. 30 and 3!, the counted card drops approximately 1 inches upon the conveyor belt I, which carries it towards the rear of the machine. The

The cards are ejected from the wringer rolls 30 and 3| with a varying degree of velocity, some striking the deflector horns 26 which are provided to guide them downward under the roll 25, while others will drop down on cards previously deposited upon the conveyor I. The roll 25 may be readily adjusted for its most effective position, according to the size of the cards which are being counted, by means of sliding the collars I8 upon the rods l6 and I1. The conveyor belt, as previously described, carries the cards to the rear where they contact the inclined plate 21 which operates to stack them in approximately an upright position, from which they may be removed by the operator from time to time, as before described.

Having described my invention, what I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Ifatent is: 1. In a card counting machine having a feeder, two sets of wringer rolls and a counting mechanism intermediate said rolls; a conveyor belt to receive said cards after they are counted, rotatablemeans located back of the second set of wringer rolls which acts as a buffer to cards delivered by said wringer rolls, stationary means located each side of said buifer to deflect the they I cards downwardly onto said belt, an inclinedv plate adjacent the end of said conveyor which stacks the cards while the machine is running.

2. In a card counting machine having a-fe'eder, two sets of wringer rolls and a counting mechanism intermediate said rolls; a preliminary stacking roll which'receivesthe cards as they are ejected from the second set of wringer rolls, a

conveyor belt below and in contact with said v stacking roll to receive said cards after they are counted, a casing for said conveyor belt, a hinged cover therefor which when opened forms an incent the end, of said conveyor which stacks the cards while the machine is running.

4. In a card counting machine having a feeder, two sets of wringer rolls and a counting mechanism intermediate said rolls; a conveyor belt to receive said cardsafter they are counted, rotatable means located back of the second set of wringer rolls which acts as a buffer to cards delivered by said wringer rolls, stationary means clined plate adjacent the end of said conveyor located each side of said buifer to deflect the cards downwardly onto said belt, means permitting the adjustment of the said deflecting means, adjustable means adjacent the end of said conveyor which stacks the cards while the machine is running.

5. In a card counting machine having a feeder, two sets of wringer rolls and a counting mecha nism intermediate said rolls; a preliminary stacking roll which receives the cards as they are ejected from the second set of wringer rolls, a.

conveyor belt to receive the said cards after they I are counted, an inclined plate adjacent the end of said conveyor which stacks the cards while the machine is running, adjustable means mounted adjacent the stacking roll to deflect cards moving at an excessive speed.

6. In a card counting machine having a feeder, two sets of wringer rolls and a counting mechanism intermediate said rolls; a conveyor belt to receive said cards after they are counted, acasing for said belt, an inclinedplate adjacent the end of said conveyor which stacks the cards while the v machine is running, said stacking means comprising a cover hinged to said casing. means permitting veyor belt.

7. In a card counting machine having a feeder, two sets of wringer rolls and a counting mechanism intermediate said rolls; a conveyor belt to receive said cards after they are counted, an inclined plate adjacent the end of. said conveyor which stacks the cards while the machine is running, said plate being hingedly mounted whereby ing roller, rotatable means located back of the second set of wringer rolls which acts as a buffer to cards delivered by said wringer rolls, stationary means located each. side of said buffer to I deflect the cards downwardly onto said belt,

the adjustment of said conmeans permitting the adjustment of 'said buffer and deflecting means, a conveyor belt below and in contact with the periphery of said stacking roller .to receive said cards after they are counted, an inclined plate adjacent the end of said conveyor which stacks the cards while the: machine is running, means to adjust said conveyor belt.

9. In a card counting machine having a feeder, two sets of wringer'rolls and a counting mechanism intermediate said rolls; a. preliminary stack ing roll which receives the cards as they are ejected from the-second set of wringer rolls, deflector horns at each side 'of said preliminary stacking roll, means to adjust the position of said horns, a conveyor belt to receive said cards after they are counted, an inclined plate adjacent the end of said conveyor which stacks the cards while the machine isrunning.

10. In a. card counting machine having a feeder, two sets of wringer-rolls and a counting mechanism intermediate said mils; a preliminary stacking roll, deflector horns. mounted each side of said stacking roll, a conveyor belt to receive said cards after they are counted, adjustable means adjacent. the end of said conveyor which stacks the cards while the machine is running.

' NEISON S. WELK. 

